Wyeth Songs
Inspired by the Paintings of Andrew Wyeth
and presented by members of the
Kennett Symphony Children's Chorus
March 23, 2 p.m.

Chadds Ford, PA - March 14, 2013 Select members of the Kennett Symphony Children's Chorus, with soloist baritone Randall Scarlata, will perform excerpts from original compositions inspired by poems based on Andrew Wyeth paintings at the museum on March 23.

The composer, Van Stiefel, a professor of music at West Chester University, set to music three poems written by David Livewell. The poems, from Livewell's book of poems Woven Light, are based on Andrew Wyeth's Roasted Chestnuts (1956), Me (2007) and The Big Room (1981). All three poems suggest themes central to both Wyeth's work and to the music created. According to Dr. Stiefel, these are "childhood's presence in the adult's life; art practice as an inter-generational shared experience and landscape as a locus of memory."

Roasted Chestnuts, which symbolizes isolation and loneliness, is on view in the Andrew Wyeth gallery. The Big Room depicts the living room of the N.C. Wyeth home where Andrew grew up. Me is one of the last tempera paintings created by Wyeth.

This innovative body of work is the culmination of a Community Partners' Project between the Kennett Symphony Children's Chorus and the American Composers' Forum, Philadelphia Chapter. The program is free for members and included in museum admission.

Brandywine River Museum, located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, is open daily (except Christmas Day) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults; $8 for seniors ages 65 and over, $6 for students and children ages 6-12; free for children under six and Brandywine Conservancy members. Museum admission is free on Sunday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to noon through November 24 (except May 26 during the Annual Antiques Show).